Road Trip
by Rese1986
Summary: Alice wants to take a road trip across the country. Bella reluctantly agrees to go with her. However Bella seems to be a walking target. Is Alice strong enough to protect Bella from all the dangers lurking?
1. Persuasion

**Chapter one: Persuasion**

"Come on! It'll be fun! Just us girls." Alice grinned at me. How can I refuse her?

"Ok, fine!" I sighed in resignation.

"It's all set then. We'll leave first thing in the morning." Alice danced away from me before I had time to object.

"She's lucky she can out run me." I mumbled to myself, knowing Alice could probably hear me. I felt cold arms wrap around my waist and pull me close.

"You know you don't have to go. I CAN outrun her. We could make a break for it." Edward whispered softly in my ear. His smell was still intoxicating even after all this time. My entire body shivered against my will. Edward pulled back slightly and I turned in his arms.

"Not that I wouldn't love to escape with you, but Alice deserves some time with me too I suppose. Once I'm a vampire time will no longer be an issue. But until then..." I trailed off as I saw the pained expression I knew would cross his beautiful face.

"We'll talk about that later Bella. You go have fun with Alice." Edward dropped his arms and his whole body seemed to tense up.

"It's not up for negotiation Edward. I will become one of you eventually!" I glared at him as much as one could while staring at such a perfect beautiful man. I thought I was getting better at it though. Edward sighed and I felt guilty knowing how much this hurt him. Through all his reassuring I couldn't help but think he wouldn't love me the same if I became a vampire. I shook that thought from my head and reached up to give Edward a kiss. He kissed me back with a fervor I hadn't expected.

"Does that mean you're not mad at me?" I choked out as I gasped for air.

"Of course not Bella. I could never be mad at you. Only at myself." He pulled me close and whispered in my ear again.

"I will always love you. Even...if...you become a vampire." Edward always seemed to know how I was feeling. I was really starting to wonder if he could read my mind now. Before I could respond Alice came dancing back into the room.

"Now now you're not trying to take her away from me are you?" Alice stopped and closed her eyes for a second.

"Nope. We're still good to go." She grinned again. I scowled.

"I guess I better go pack. Charlie will be thrilled though so it wont take much convincing on his part." I kissed Edward goodbye although I knew I would see him again in a few hours.

"8:00 am" Alice answered before I could even ask the question. Psychics.

* * *

Charlie eyed me suspiciously as we ate in silence. He had figured out by now when I wanted to talk to him about something.

"So...What did you do today Bells?"

I swallowed a mouthful of mashed potatoes. I shouldn't be this nervous. Charlie loved Alice. Still, I couldn't keep the butterflies from creeping into my stomach.

"I hung out over at the Cullen's." I paused waiting for the remark that was sure to come.

"Oh...Did you have fun?" Charlie asked, clearly uncomfortable. I had to give him some credit. He really was trying to give Edward another chance.

"Yeah. Edward wasn't around much so I mostly just talked with Alice." Charlie's face brightened considerably at this news.

"How is Alice? She hasn't been over in a while." Charlie seemed almost happy now.

"Alice is fine. She tried to give me another makeover though." I frowned as I remembered the events leading up to the dreaded road trip idea.

"Actually, Dad, Alice wants to take a road trip. She was thinking of driving down to Florida and wanted to know if I would go with her." I studied Charlie trying to gauge his reaction.

"I think that's a fine idea. Maybe you guys can stop in Jacksonville. I know Renee would love to see you." Charlie seemed downright giddy now. I was starting to get a little irritated. He was entirely too happy with the idea of me spending time away from Edward. I stood up and started cleaning the kitchen. Charlie brought over his dishes and offered to help.

"Thanks Dad. I gotta pack and get to bed soon. Alice will be here at 8 tomorrow morning." I groaned.

"Well let me clean up here. You go on and pack." Charlie took the plate from my hand and started washing it. I stepped back and sighed. I guess there's no way to prolong this. The only thing getting me up the stairs was the thought of Edward waiting for me on my bed. However I was shocked to find he wasn't the only one waiting for me.

"Alice! What are YOU doing here?" I hissed not wanting to draw Charlies attention.

"She doesn't trust us not to try and make a run for it. We'd have a good head start by the time she saw what we were planning. And since I am faster..." Edward looked at me apologetically.

"Besides I can help you pack!" Alice jumped up and started rummaging through my closest.

"Oh Bella we have got to get you some new clothes!" She held up an old pair of tattered jeans as an example.

"Great." I wondered idly if Edward grabbed me and made a run for it if he'd be fast enough to get away from Alice. She stopped looking at my sad wardrobe for a second before turning to glare at me.

"Don't even think about it."

I took a step back and Edward raised his eyebrows in question. I smiled sheepishly.

"OK Alice lets just get this over with." I pulled out my suitcase and flipped it open.

"That won't be necessary Bella. Our first stop will be Olympia. I'm going to pick out a whole new wardrobe for you!"

"Really Alice that wont be necessary." I glared at Edward as if this was somehow his fault.

"Oh it is necessary. Look at these clothes!" Alice shrieked but still sounded like an angel. It really wasn't fair. I knew there was no way I was going to win this one so I didn't put up much of a fight.

"Fine but I get the final say in whatever you pick out." I sat on the bed and pouted. Edward pulled me to him and wrapped me in his arms.

"I still don't understand why you wanna go to Florida. Its not like you can lay on the beach and get a tan." I tried to glare at her again but being in Edwards arms made that nearly impossible.

"I've never been." Such a simple answer.

"We could go somewhere else. I just thought you might want to see Renee." She was right. I was dying to see my mom again. The last time I saw her I was nearly comatose...I stopped there not wanting to relive what I went through when Edward left me.

"Of course we will be stopping along the way as well. Do you have any special requests?"

In spite of myself I was starting to get excited. It might be fun to stop in different states and cities. Then another thought occurred to me.

"Uh Alice, are you going to do _all_ the driving?" My stomach did flips.

"Of course." She smiled sweetly.

"That's what I thought." I started to feel nauseous. With the way Alice drove we could get down to Florida and back in less than a week. Part of that made me feel better, knowing I wouldn't be away from Edward as long as I thought. I yawned and decided it was time to get some sleep.

"Alright its time for you two to leave. I'll never get any sleep with both of you here. I'll see you at 8am Alice." She jumped out the window first while Edward was more reluctant to get up.

"I have the cell phone you gave me. I think I'll be fine. And we'll keep in touch along the way. I'm going to miss you though." I wrapped my arms around him tighter. Edward lifted me up gently and began kissing me like he was never going to see me again. This scared me for a moment but as his lips moved against mine thinking became impossible. He finally pulled away leaving me breathless and disappeared into the dark night.


	2. Olympia

**Authors note: I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their reviews so far. I hope to be able to update regularly but some chapters may take a few days. Thanks to everyone who reads the story! I hope you are enjoying it.**

* * *

"Alice slow down!" I gripped the center console with all my strength as Alice weaved through the traffic. This was going to be a long trip.

"Relax Bella. I know what I'm doing. Even on a bad day my driving is better than yours." I growled at her and looked out the window. I'd been to Olympia only a handful of times and under normal circumstances I would've loved to see the city. But Alice had other plans in mind. A shopping trip. I shuddered involuntary.

"Are you cold?" Alice reached over and turned the air down. I was too nervous to object. It's not like I was sweating or anything.

"Bella? Are you going to ignore me the rest of the trip?" Alice turned to look at me.

"Alice watch the road!" I shouted as I covered my eyes. I didn't care to watch my death coming head on.

"So over-dramatic this one." Alice turned her eyes back to the road purely for show. I knew she could probably look at me, adjust the radio, and never stray from the perfect line she drove. Still, I was only human after all. Maybe I could convince Alice to let me drive at least part of the way.

"How far now?" I decided to break the silence.

"About half an hour, maybe less." Alice looked secretly pleased. What should've taken us over 3 hours we managed to drive in about an hour and a half.

"You remember our agreement? I get--"

"Yes, you get the final say in what I pick out." Alice interrupted clearly not happy.

"Just checking." I mumbled. Today was quickly becoming the worst day of my life.

"We're here!" Alice squealed excitedly.

"Great." I rolled my eyes as I looked out the window at the surprisingly small mall we were pulling into. I felt a little relief. Maybe this wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

_**4 hours later...**_

"Alice, I swear this is the last time I'm going shopping with you!" I threw the bags of clothes into the back seat before yanking my door open and climbing inside.

"It wasn't that bad Bella. You're going to look so great! I wish you would've changed while we were in there though. That shirt just isn't doing you any justice." Alice started the car and pulled out nearly hitting a waiting car in the process. I shrank in my seat. Edward was going to get an earful when I got home.

We sat in near silence for the next hour. The radio played soft rock in the background and Alice hummed happily to herself. Still pouting from the shopping trip I looked sullenly out the window at the passing scenery. My stomach growled loudly letting me know it was time to eat. I glanced at the clock. It was 3pm. I barely had time to eat breakfast before Alice showed up this morning, ten minutes early I might add.

"Alice, I need food. Human here." I didn't even look at her. I knew I was being childish but I felt like some doll she was playing dress up with.

"Oh, right. Sorry." She glanced at me sideways knowing better than to take her eyes off the road again.

"Uh, I'm not really any good at this. Why don't you tell me what you'd like to eat." Alice looked a little uneasy, nervous perhaps. There's a first time for everything I guess. I held back a sarcastic retort as my stomach growled again. I needed food. Maybe I wouldn't be so grumpy after I ate.

"That sign said there's a Burger King off the next exit. That will be good enough." I tried to sound a little more friendly. It wasn't Alice's fault I hated shopping or had bad taste in clothes for that matter. She was only trying to help. Great now I'll have to apologize.

"I'm sorry. I'm being childish. Thank you for everything Alice. Really. I'm sure it will all look great." I managed to get the apology out through gritted teeth and still sound somewhat sincere.

"It's ok Bella. I knew it would be a fight. I was prepared. You do look great though you know. Edward will be pleased. Though for some reason he seems to love your ratty jeans and t-shirts. He just might have some competition now though with your new look." Alice grinned but we both knew no one could compete with Edward. There was only one guy my heart belonged to.

I relaxed a little. There was no reason to fight with Alice. I really wanted to have a good time on this trip. It could be fun. And the worst part was now over. I made a mental note to buy Alice something special as a thank you. I was being ungrateful and I wanted to make it up to her.

"Ok so how does this work exactly?" Alice looked nervous again as we pulled up to Burger King. I laughed.

"Just pull in the parking lot. I'll go inside and order." You could see immediate relief flash across her face. I wondered if she even knew what Burger King was.

"I'll just...I'll wait here."

"I'll be back in a few." I smirked as I headed towards the small run down building.

I walked into the empty dining area and stood back a little as I studied the menu. Everything looked good right now. I ordered probably too much food but I could save some for later, in case Alice forgot I was a human again. As I approached the door to leave I saw Alice struggling with a tall black man. I froze in fear. I knew Alice was perfectly capable of protecting herself but she was amongst humans and couldn't risk exposing who she was. I watched as she kicked the man in the stomach, a little too hard as he went flying a few feet backwards. She quickly grabbed the bags out of the backseat and ran towards me. I jumped back as Alice pushed the door open and stepped inside. I relaxed a little when she was out of harms way. We stared out the window in shock watching the man race out of the parking lot in the new car Alice had bought just for this trip.

"Oh my god Alice, I'm so sorry! This is all my fault. I could've waited to eat. We didn't have to stop here. If I wasn't a stupid human..." She cut me off when I got to that part.

"Bella this is not your fault. You need food." Alice sighed but it was more of an annoyed expression she wore on her face. I glanced down at the bags she carried.

"I notice you found time to grab the clothes." I rolled my eyes annoyed.

"But of course. I wasn't about to let them go. The car is replaceable. However you will probably never enter another store as long as you live. I made the sacrifice." She grinned at me.

"Gee thanks. What are we gonna do now?" I chewed on my nails, a nervous habit I thought I had kicked months ago.

"Now I gotta go steal a car. You know, before you came along Bella I hadn't had to steal a car since I first found Jasper and we headed to find Carlisle." She poked me in the side with her elbow to let me know she was teasing. Although I was sure what she said was true.

I seemed to attract danger. Edward said it best, 'If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius, it will invariably find you.' I sighed as I remembered Edward. I missed him and we hadn't been gone even 12 hours. The only downside to this little road trip. Well that and the fact that apparently danger had decided to follow me. Alice disappeared and I sat down in the dining area avoiding the stares of the workers. Suddenly I wasn't hungry anymore. I didn't have to wait long though. Alice was back within 2 minutes. I gawked at the car she had picked. Just as flashy and conspicuous as the car in Italy. I shook my head and wondered if she secretly enjoyed grand theft auto.

"So whats next on the agenda, jail?" I joked and she laughed the most beautiful laugh. I wondered if I'd sound like that when I finally became a vampire. I sure hoped so.

"Well get in! I think they'll be looking for us soon. We need to find a dealership so I can buy another car. We don't want the police on our tail all the way to Florida."

I climbed in the passenger side and put my seat belt on. The bag opened a little and the smell of fresh fries made my mouth water. I decided I was hungry again and I devoured the entire bag of food. Of course I regretted it afterwards. I was stuffed so full I thought I was going to throw up. Holding my stomach, I rolled the window down letting in some fresh air.

"Finally!" Alice nearly shouted in relief. We pulled into a BMW dealership. Naturally.

"Shall I wait here?" I was feeling so sick now I wasn't sure I could even make it to a bathroom to throw up if I needed to.

"I wouldn't recommend it actually. I think we passed a cop a few miles back. Don't worry though. I already know which car I want. I'm paying in cash so that will speed things up. No need to have it detailed either." We came to a stop and Alice hopped out of the car. I was thankful for the awnings that stretched out nearly 50 feet from the building providing a nice shade for Alice. The last thing we needed was her throwing rainbows in the sun.

"Yes I'm absolutely sure that's the one I want. Now if you wouldn't mind I'm in a bit of a hurry...." I stopped listening as Alice wrapped up the deal. My concentration was focused on my stomach and not hurling all over the polished floor. It seemed like hours before Alice came back and announced we were all set to go. My stomach had calmed down some so I was fairly certain I could make it out the car. Once we were in, I reclined the seat a little. I let out a deep breath. At least now I knew we wouldn't be arrested for grand theft auto.

"Much better. This car can handle higher speeds than the last one." Her eyes gleamed like a child on Christmas morning. I closed my eyes and prayed, yet again, for my safety. Alice could survive just about anything so I wasn't too worried about her. Damn being a stupid fragile human.

"Next stop, Portland!" She exclaimed happily as she hit the gas.


End file.
